Speller pset (check function) problem

Question

I'm not sure what exactly is wrong with my code. I ran it through Valgrind, which says "Looks like you're trying to use a variable that might not have a value? Take a closer look at line 145 of dictionary.c" specifically referring to this line of my code in the Check section:

while(strcmp((*cursor).word, new_array_for_textword) != 0) 

--- see my attached code for more info. I don't get why it is wrong, as the logical steps seem fine to me. Appreciate it if anyone could let me know what's wrong, thanks so much.

bool check(const char *word)
{
    //calculate length of the text word
    int wordlength = strlen(word);

    //allocate space for the new array in CHECK
    char new_array_for_textword[wordlength + 1];

    //copy word from text to new array so that we can make them all lower case
    for (int i = 0; i < wordlength; i++)
    {
        new_array_for_textword[i] = tolower(word[i]);
    }

    //in the array_for_textword you need to add \0
    new_array_for_textword[wordlength + 1] = '\0';

    //hash the word
    int hashnumber = hash(new_array_for_textword);

    //check the hash tables are not empty
    if(hashtable[hashnumber] == NULL)
    {
        return false;
    }

    node *cursor = hashtable[hashnumber];

    //compare both strings, as long as they are not the same, the node will proceed, until it hits the same strings
    while(strcmp((*cursor).word, new_array_for_textword) != 0)
    {
        cursor = (*cursor).next;
        if(cursor == NULL)
        {
            return false;
        }
    }

    return true;
}

Answer 1

Here's one problem:

//in the array_for_textword you need to add \0
new_array_for_textword[wordlength + 1] = '\0';

Remember, if an array is allocated with x+1 elements, the first element is 0, not 1, and the last element is x, not x+1.

There may be other issues. Often, a problem that manifests itself in check can be traced back to issues in load.

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